Overwatch: Reading the Final Crusade (updated)
by Hollow609
Summary: This is the tale of one of the bravest Overwatch agents to ever live. He always fought for Honour and Glory and above all Family. He was a soldier, a crusader, a hero, a grandfather figure, he is Reinhardt Wilhelm and this is the reading of his final fight. (Permission given by owner to do this)


**Hello everybody, my name is Hollow609 and today I'm doing a remake of an old reading/watching fanfic I did. It was an Overwatch Fanfic by Author/Writer Shadows Cutting Deeper. He's a great author so go check him out, link to his account will be at the end of the story if you want to check him out. I hope you enjoy my second attempt at this Shadow. Please like and review, it'll make me feel happy and go check out the original version of this which will be linked. Guys, am I forgetting something?**

 **Random Guy: Idiot. Hollow doesn't own Final Crusade and if he claimed he did I would 'A Thousand Years of Death' his ass.**

 **Please no…**

 **Overwatch HQ, Watchpoint Gibraltar**

Lena "Tracer" Oxton smiled as she watched Genji and Angela talk happily. The young woman sneakily took a few photos with her phone before she remembered to give these to Hanzo for blackmail material on his younger brother. Lena quickly ran forward to her two friends who waved when they saw her. Just as Lena reached the two a teenage boy appeared in front of her.

"This won't take long." The teen spoke before they all disappeared, leaving no signs of that anyone was there.

 **Unknown**

"Angela, your foot is on my breast luv."

"Sorry Lena. Genji do you think you can?"

"One second." A voice spoke and the three soon fell out of the uncomfortable positions they were in.

"Now then I'd like to welcome you to-" Before he could continue he felt a shotgun barrel being placed at the back of his skull.

"How'd you get ou-oh that's right, you can turn into smoke." Hollow cursed himself as the Reaper cocked said weapon.

"Explain where we are so I don't blow your brains out."

"You do that and you will regret it." A raspy voice said and the Reaper shuddered when he felt the blade of a scythe being placed around his neck. He turned his mask face before he froze. A person wearing a suit stared at him. The freakiest part was that the man's head was a skull, no skin, no flesh, just bone. A door behind the teen burst open as a few people stormed in. Jack Morrison aka Soldier 76, Torbjorn aka Torbjorn, Ana Amari aka Horus/Shrike, Jesse McCree aka McCree and Fareeha Amari aka Pharah, each a person that had been close to Reinhardt.

"Where are we?" Hana asked as she looked around the room.

"Ah…my bad." Hollow said before he stood up and returned to a normal human form.

"Welcome to the place where you will see Reinhardt's death." The room was silent before everyone began to complain angrily but were silenced by Hollow waving his hand.

"Just watch." Reluctantly and after a few minutes of trying to figure out why they couldn't talk, the group al turned to the screen."

 **-Final Crusade-**

Despite the solemn title, Reinhardt kept his face impassive of any emotions.

 **"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."**

 **-Burke, Edmund**

'Good words to live by.' Jack, Ana, Torbjorn, Reinhardt and Gabe thought, though they all didn't know they thought the same thing.

 **"** _ **Honor, Chivalry, defence of the Innocent, as Crusaders, this is the code we live by, we bleed, and we die, so others may live, and cherish life.**_ **"**

 **"REINHARDT, LOOK OUT!"**

The younger adults all flinched at the shout of Angela Ziegler. It was one they rarely heard but recognised the emotions. It was one of terror, fear and above all…worry.

 **Angela 'Mercy' Ziegler's voice snapped Reinhardt out of his memory, raising his shield, he absorbed the blast of an oncoming grenade, his knees nearly buckled from the force, but the shield held. Reinhardt looked back over his shoulder to ensure that the others were safe, the sight he was greeted with both worried, and relieved him.**

"Still not old enough old man?" Fareeha joked and laughed at Reinhardt's laugh. Hollow smiled as he watched the group laugh, even Gabe had a little chuckle. The mood then died down as they all returned their attention to the screen.

 **On one hand, the grenade blast had not gotten through, on the other, things were already desperate, Morrison ran low on ammo, and Mercy desperately healed the wounded members of the team, Reinhardt's heart sunk, their youngest, and newest member, the Korean currently wailed in pain as Mercy attempted to heal the burn wounds, and shrapnel dug into her flesh, which was the result of her...Machine exploding. The rest wasn't much better, the Shimada brothers were only a short distance away from the doctor, Hanzo's face contorted into a mask of pain, as his brother tightly gripped his wrist in an effort to stifle the blood flow going to his now mangled and unrecognizable hand.**

"You always were worried about us, even in the middle of battle." Ana muttered and the others agreed.

"But that's one of his good qualities." Lena spoke up and the others nodded in agreement.

"Zhank you…my friends."

Reinhardt couldn't allow hope to die now, not when things were most bleak.

"Do not worry my friends! I will be your shield!" He said, attempting his light-hearted tone, even under the strain of hundreds of bullets colliding with his shield at any given moment, draining his power reserve constantly, and making the armour ever heavier to carry, he could not falter, to fail now would surely mean the death of his team.

"Wait, wait, wait timeout!" Torbjorn cried and Hollow paused the mini-movie.

"You're saying your suit has a limited power source?! And you didn't even ask me to increase the power it could hold?!" Torbjorn cried and Reinhardt scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Heh, heh…I forgot?"

"We're talking about this later."

 **"** _ **War is hell, but we are warriors of heaven, we must be ready to sacrifice anything to defend those in need.**_ **"**

 **Reinhardt wasn't sure why his Master's voice rang in his head, why the memories of his initiation into the Crusaders flooded back now, but it instilled in him a new vigour to fight on, just as it had done so many years ago, during the crisis which threatened to swallow the world.**

"You had a master?" Lena asked as she knew little of Reinhardt's crusader days.

"Yes! His name was Balderich. He was a good mentor, a good friend…" Reinhart trailed off as he remembered the man's death. Jack placed a hand on his friends shoulder comfortingly and Reinhardt nodded in thanks.

 **His allies shouted behind him, of course they did.**

 **"Where's our backup? We can't hold out much longer!"**

 **"We have to!"**

 **Reinhardt let out a sigh, though his friends couldn't here. Jack was right, under such heavy fire by Talon's soldiers, they couldn't hope to hold the line.**

 **"Let them come!" Reinhardt shouted, a righteous fury in his voice which only a 'knight' could muster. "I will drive them back!" Angela looked at him like he was suggesting suicide, which he partly was, the shield was the only thing protecting all of them from the hailstorm of bullets. Yet somehow...Reinhardt managed to step forward.**

"Jesus, I forgot how strong the big guy was." Jesse stated and everyone agreed. Even if the shield wasn't actual metal Reinhardt would still feel the force of bullets impacting against the shields.

 **"Reinhardt, stop, you'll get yourself killed!" Morrison shouted, Reinhardt could barely hear his friend over the hail of gunfire.**

 **"And if I don't I will get you killed!" He yelled back, taking another step forward. The soldiers of Talon didn't move, but their gunfire wavered, obviously shocked as to how this old man was not only withstanding their barrage, but advancing under fire, in truth, Reinhardt was surprised as well.**

"You were always one's for dramatics Reinhardt and everyone laughed or chuckled in agreement. The Crusader simply blushed.

 **"** _ **There will come a time in your life, where you are tempted to run, and the alternative is certain death. You must make your choice then, will you live a coward, or die a Crusader?**_ **"**

 **The choice was obvious...**

 **Reinhardt was born in the year two thousand and fifteen, an age of political and religious strife, and survived the global wars of his childhood. He had survived the war on terror, the Third World War, and the Omnic Crisis. He had lived a long life, and had seen many of his friends and comrades fall in battle beside him.**

Hollow looked at Reinhardt and felt sorry for the man. He was born only a few years after the first two biggest wars in history before being thrown into another. He had been thrown into the Omnic Crisis and had seen many horrors, watched his friends fall while he survived no matter how hard he tried to protect him. One the outside Reinhardt was a well-oiled machine but on the inside, an old and crippled man in need of rest.

 **No more.**

 **He wouldn't live to see Overwatch, his friends, the closest thing he had to a family, get taken away from him. The young ones, who were like children of his own, Angela, always there to give a kind word, and Morrison, who he had bled beside for years.**

 **Shotgun blasts battered against his shield, it didn't take a genius to know that Reyes was here, even through the hail of bullets, Reinhardt could see him, clad in his ridiculous outfit, proclaiming himself as 'death' to inflate his own ego.**

" _Oh great. Sombra's going to have a field day with this._ " Gabe muttered at the narrator's description of him.

 **Another step forward, Reinhardt's fury grew, Reyes had torn this family apart, because of his jealousy, there were where they were today.**

 **How many had Reyes killed since then? How many innocent lives had he taken, since he tore the family in two, since he had murdered half of Overwatch in cold blood.**

 **Those deaths could not go un-avenged. Reinhardt glanced back at his comrades, perhaps for the final time. They needed him.**

Reinhardt listened intently, seriousness on his face. Everyone noticed it and fell into silence as they watched the screen.

 **"** _ **Live, and die with honor. If we are to defend the fatherland, these are the words we must live by.**_ **"**

 **Balderich, always so inspirational, Reinhardt's eyes locked onto Reaper and his little gunner squad...It was time to join his brothers.**

 **"JUSTICE, WILL BE DONE!"**

"GO REINHARDT!" Lena screamed even though it was just a movie.  
"Lena it's just-"  
"GO GRANDPA REIN!" Fareeha roared, McCree joining her.

"Just let them yell Jack." Ana advised and Jack grunted in reply.

 **Needless to say, everyone was surprised when Reinhardt dropped his shield, and charged forward, all guns focusing on him, bullets ripped into his armour from every direction, but he continued his charge, almost instantly, he was surrounded, hah, the poor bastards.**

 **Reinhardt's hammer flew through the air, crashing into soldier after soldier, some fell onto the ground with a loud crack, others were thrown against the buildings, leaving dents when they made contact. Reaper struggled to remain out of Reinhardt's path of destruction, shouting "DIE!" with every blast of his Shotguns, it seemed to have little effect, almost as quickly as Reinhardt charged forward, the only one left standing was Reaper, as the rest of his men were reduced to nothing, Reinhardt glared at him, half of his helm shattered from constant gunfire, Reinhardt's blue eye glared at Reyes, and quite possibly, for the first time since his transformation, Reaper felt fear.**

"To be fair-"  
"You're never fair, our poker games agree with us."  
"He is a seven foot German Crusader in armour that wields a massive hammer. Who wouldn't feel fear?" Every began to raise their hands before letting them drop to their sides.

"Exactly."

 **"I WILL BREAK YOU!" He charged forward once more, and the air was knocked from Reyes's chest as one ton of German fury collided with him, Reinhardt, grabbing him by the neck, charged the two right off the roof.**

 **Reinhardt, having discarded the hammer during the charge, slammed his armored fist into Reaper's skull as the two fell, breaking his mask with the first swing, he didn't stop, or even falter, until the two finally hit the street below.**

"Oh no…" Lena muttered as tears began to form in her eyes. Fareeha fell silent and didn't object to her mother's arms wrapping around her. McCree began to shake before Gabe's hand placed itself on his shoulder. The cowboy didn't even shake it off, letting the father figure stay there.

 **Reaper seemed to dissipate into smoke underneath him, that...Probably meant he died, hopefully. Reinhardt's back rested against the street, and he laid his head down, his vision turning red. He managed to see Morrison out of the corner of his injured vision some moments later, and sighed, he did his job.**

It was slow at first as Lena hugged Reinhardt and slowly others moved closer until everyone was holding Reinhardt and crying. It was something they all needed.

 **He could vaguely hear Jack call for help, Reinhardt wanted to tell him it was pointless, to focus on everyone else, but he had a hard time speaking, so instead it came out as a bloody cough. He wasn't sure how long it was until Mercy arrived, he didn't mind, at this point he couldn't feel much, was that a bad thing, or a good thing?**

 **"Stay with me Reinhardt, you've survived worse than this..."**

 **Hah, Morrison really did care, Reinhardt wanted to laugh, he couldn't.**

 **"I..." He was interrupted by a coughing fit "I save them, Ja?" He asked, just managing a smile.**

 **Jack nodded, Reinhardt smiled again, before his vision went black.**

 **He always did swear he wouldn't die in a retirement home.**

A few chuckles were let out at the final sentence and the screen went black. Everyone looked at Reinhardt who had a solemn look on his face. Before anyone could do anything Fareeha and Lena had thrown their arms around their grandfather figure. Reinhardt hugged the two back before the others moved in and did the same. Reinhardt was always smiling, never asking anything from others but today, though he wouldn't say it he asked for something.

He asked for his family to come back to him.

 **The end…**


End file.
